London office working on ‘crisis’ plan
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government Office in the UK (CIGO-UK) is establishing a crisis communications plan in partnership with the government here to improve the flow of information in the event of an emergency. The recent earthquake and ongoing coronavirus outbreak have been shared through the CIGO-UK, in partnership with Cayman Connection UK (CCUK) and the Friends of Cayman group, but the aim is to go further and encourage Cayman residents in the UK to register with the office.
Cayman Islands UK and European representative, André Ebanks, explained what his office is doing to improve lines of communication and why.
“The experiences of crisis communications throughout the earthquake, tsunami warnings and now the current threat of the novel coronavirus have shown us, more than ever, that we need to be organised and well prepared to serve Caymanians, not only in Cayman, but those travelling and living overseas,” he said. “We hope that those Caymanians will register with our office so that we can be of assistance, if needed.”
Ebanks said this would mean the office could share information promptly and directly.
“We find it encouraging that since 2 February, at the time of our first novel Coronavirus notice, we have received over 50 registrations from Caymanians. Current advice from the UK’s Foreign Office is that British Nationals are being advised to leave China if they are able, and this includes Caymanians,” he added.
Ebanks said it was important that CIGO-UK stays in close contact with officials on the ground in Cayman, and stands ready to assist Caymanians overseas.
The London office has also been coordinating with the Ministry of Health, Hazard Management Cayman Islands (HMCI) and the Foreign Office in the UK to ensure they are reaching all Caymanians in the UK with the correct messages and information.
Chief Medical Officer Dr John Lee is in communication with the CIGO-UK to share updates from the Ministry of Health. “It is useful to better understand the mission of the CIGO-UK who are alert and aware of the Caymanians in the UK and will be of assistance to those affected where possible and necessary,” he said.
HMCI Director Danielle Coleman said prompt, well-prepared coordination between departments for crisis communications was vital,
“It is important not to forget the role that our overseas office provides in coordinating and disseminating emergency messages. We are working with the CIGO-UK and CCUK to refine our crisis communications to include our diaspora overseas, and as such we recommend that Caymanians who are travelling or living overseas register with these entities so that they can be kept up to date with happenings in Cayman,” she said.
CCUK, a network for Caymanians Overseas, works in partnership with CIGO-UK to disseminate information. Alanis Linwood-Amor, Cayman Connection’s Lead Alumni Ambassador in Cayman, reached out to CIGO-UK to assist with coordination of coronavirus communications through CCUK last weekend.
“My experience as a Caymanian student overseas taught me how important it is to stay connected with fellow Caymanians and with CIGO-UK,” she said. Now back in Cayman, she acts as a point of contact for CCUK but also keeps those currently away informed and connected on what’s happening on the island.
“My communication with the CIGO-UK has also assisted the Ministry of Health’s efforts to share information about the coronavirus to a wider audience,” she said.
Specific guidance for Caymanians overseas is as follows:
Caymanians (as British nationals) who are living or travelling outside the UK (for which there are no Cayman Government Representative Offices), should register with the nearest British Embassy/High Commission, which would be their point of contact for information/assistance; British Nationals currently in China are advised to leave, and
Caymanians living or travelling in the UK are urged to register with the Cayman Islands Government Office UK as a point of contact for information/assistance.
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Category: Local News
I just hope they work better than the ones that prevailed post-Ivan. I was in the UK at the time and about the only source of info was Cayman Net News. CIG and RCIPS had shut down, even the emergency numbers they issued didn’t work.
thing is it’s a lot easier to have a plan and amend based on reality and circumstances than to have no plan at al. Fairly consistent with military thinking like Von Moltke -conflict/ war some of the most uncertain and volatile crisis management issues you can come across. If nothing else at least a good plan should have the contact details of the key parties involved so you can adapt. Way better than acting like an ostrich and ignoring the problem, or a fatalist accepting that you cannot do anything.
What’s the plan for the equality riots that are coming? Standing ministers are stoking opposition to judicial directives? How does the UK feel about that?
Only real equality riots that may come will be when Caymanians feel pushed to the brink by those who have come here, sucked at the teet and flattened themselves and flattened us. You can’t continue to bite the hand that feeds you and not expect a reaction.
Ummm, and the many Caymanians who are not British or BOTC’s and so are not British nationals?
What’s your point? You think people who don’t register as BOTC or British nationals – and real Caymanians are entitled to do so- should get consular assistance from the British government? How would you distinguish between people of a 100+ nationalities living here and Caymanians if the Caymanian in question can’t be bothered registering? If you don’t see your identity a stretching beyond the boundaries of our islands why do you expect someone else to look after you when you travel?
No, many real Caymanians are in fact not entitled to be registered as British nationals. Some have applied and had their applications denied. Others do not even meet the criteria to even apply. Our politicians and immigration department keep granting status to people without checking whether they are eligible to be registered. That means that many of them are Caymanian, but not British (no matter how widely British is defined).
BOTC application requires a clean criminal record which many born Caymanians would not qualify for.
No person is allowed to be stateless under international law. That means every person must, at birth, be entitled to citizenship – which could be through parentage (most common) and/or place of birth (less common for this to be the sole determinant, but the US is the best example). Therefore, someone who is “aborn Caymanian”, i.e. has the right to be Caymanian at birth and to not have that status revoked or require reauthorisation when the person turns 18, they MUST also have the right to British Overseas Territories Citizenship.
The clean criminal record requirement is for persons who want to become naturalised after acquiring Caymanian status, which is (legally) only an Immigration status with meaning in the Cayman Islands, not a nationality or a citizenship.
In that category, fair enough – but once a ghosted “Born Caymanian” has applied for their BOTC, and applies to be Naturalised as a UK citizen, in order to take up UK residency (and put them under remit of CIGO-UK), not as smooth without a clean criminal record.
My point is, what is the Cayman Islands government doing to help those Caymanians overseas who are not British nationals?
Lols
Typical government reactionary policies. When people try to create plans they are inevitably shot down. Planning is a foreign concept in the Civil Service it seems. Only now are they giving people training in project management for business as an example.
Now London is working on crisis plan? Priorities, priorities…..sigh..
Everybody knows by now that if earth shakes, get to the higher grounds and assume tsunami is coming.
Absolutely no need for all this fuss about coronavirus. If it becomes pandemic, nothing you can do about it.
Why not a word about 2017 fuel terminal fire and January recycling facility fire?
It was not an emergency? What is the plan if the Dump catches fire in several spots? Where would CIG evacuate people? Is there enough respiratory masks for residents and visitors? How about elderly and disabled people living alone? Who will take care of them?
Good luck with that.
As Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan….until they get hit.”